A.T. Robertson Commentary


A.T. Robertson Commentary
"And it became known to all the dwellers at Jerusalem; insomuch that in their language that field was called Akeldama, that is, The field of blood.)" — Acts 1:19 (ASV)
Language (διαλεκτω). Not a dialect of the Greek, but a different language, the Aramaic. So also in 2:6; 21:40. Διαλεκτος is from διαλεγομα, to converse, to speak between two (δια).
Akeldama (Hακελδαμαχ). This Aramaic word Peter explains as "the field of blood." Two traditions are preserved: one in Mt 27:7 which explains that the priests purchased this potter's field with the money which Judas flung down as the price of the blood of Jesus. The other in Acts describes it as the field of blood because Judas poured out his blood there. Hackett and Knowling argue that both views can be true. "The ill-omened name could be used with a double emphasis" (Hackett).